STS AIChE September 5th 2024 Monthly Dinner Meeting

Please join the South Texas Section for our monthly workshop and dinner meeting at The Bougainvilleas, 12126 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77077 (map). The pre-dinner workshop will be led by Constantine Lau. The keynote speaker is Doug Kelly.

• 5:00PM - 6:00PM        Workshop (1 PDH)

• 6:00PM - 6:30PM        Networking and Drinks

• 6:30PM - 7:15PM         Dinner

• 7:00PM - 7:15PM         Dessert and Announcements

• 7:15PM - 8:15PM          Keynote Presentation (1 PDH) 

Workshop Registration 

In-Person Registration: No registration needed.

Virtual Attendance Registration

The Workshop is free to attend for all attendees.

AIChE Dinner Registration

In-Person Registration

Virtual Attendance Registration

Dinner Registration Fees

Keynote Presentation (1 PDH Available) 

Abstract

Mr. Kelly plans to talk about the importance of Leadership and the practices that have and still are positively impacting his career. He will also discuss the market trends for new and sustainable technologies from a global perspective.

About the Speaker

Douglas (Doug) N. Kelly, P.E.

Mr. Kelly is currently President, D&L Kelly Consulting and a member of the Board of Directors for Mura Technology, a plastics recycling technology company based in the UK. He recently retired from KBR in May 2024 where he served as KBR’s President, Technology. He assumed this role in 2019 where he was responsible for KBR’s global technology licensing business, delivering sustainable technology, proprietary equipment, engineering, and technical services to the refining, petrochemical, Ammonia/Hydrogen/Fertilizer segments. He joined KBR as a Vice President in 2010.

He previously served as Senior Vice President for Business Development and Marketing for KBR’s Technology Business and prior to that led KBR’s Refining Technology Business.

Mr. Kelly has over 34 years of experience in the Refining and Petrochemical Industry. He started his caree as a process engineer at Shell Oil Company in Houston. Since then, he has held various leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer at ZEEP, Vice President at Invensys (now AVEVA) and Vice President at Aspen Technology.

Mr. Kelly has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and is a Licensed Professional Engineer registered in Texas.

In addition, he serves as the Chairman of the board for the Youth Development Center (YDC.org), an after-school literacy and math program for elementary children living in in the 5th ward.

Pre-Dinner Workshop (1 PDH Available)

Topic

Unified power and process paves the path to net zero

Abstract

While existing technologies are available to help reduce the carbon footprint of oil and gas operations, companies are still challenged to meet decarbonization and sustainability goals. Many are looking for green hydrogen, carbon capture, and sequestration to decrease their carbon footprint. These solutions can deliver substantive reduction gains when financial incentives are available and infrastructure is broadly established. Fortunately, innovative solutions such as digitalization, energy efficiency improvement, and electrification are available today to facilitate the energy transition. Companies can achieve net-zero objectives with these low hanging fruit options.

Historically, power management and process automation have been managed separately, but following this model compromises the facility’s ability to capture efficiencies. Understanding how the interconnected functions in a facility impact productivity changes the playing field and allows owners to identify areas for improvement. Capturing performance data is the first step in moving from facility management that relies on people to pinpoint bottlenecks and inefficiencies to digitally optimized operations that use the power of big data and the industrial internet of things (IIoT) to streamline and enhance productivity. The confluence of decarbonization, digitalization, and pressure to reduce capital expenditures (CapEx) and operational expenses (OpEx) is pushing the industry to rethink traditional process automation and power management. O&G companies recognize digitalization as an enabler for achieving business objectives and are keen to capture the benefits, but figuring out how to proceed is not always straightforward. For many, the obvious first step is integrating power and process management systems. The next step is to apply this unifying concept throughout the entire plant lifecycle to continuously deliver value. Unifying power management and process automation in the design phase of an O&G facility ties the processes together digitally and allows critical data to be captured and fed into a digital twin through the entire plant lifecycle. By taking in real-time performance data and optimizing operations from the outset, the digital twin can enable:

• Up to 20% savings in overall CapEx (and ensure the project stays on schedule)
• 10% lower process energy costs
• Up to 35% reduction in direct CO₂ emissions
• 15% reduction in downtime
• 3% overall profitability improvement

Digitalization links connected products (e.g., field devices and edge control systems) to apps and analytics, executing data analytics on interconnected systems to deliver value across the entire enterprise supply chain. A value-focused digital transformation leverages connected devices and IIoT to extend the facility’s operational life and, at the same time, reduce both CapEx and OpEx.

About the Speaker

Constantine Lau

Constantine Lau is the Global Director of the Energy and Chemicals Segment with Schneider Electric and holds 20+ years of experience in Industrial Automation, Energy Management, and Software industry. He is responsible for oil & gas segment business strategies and sales and marketing programs worldwide. Constantine has published numerous articles on Sustainability, Industrial Automation, Energy Optimization, and AI systems. He graduated with dual engineering degrees from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Houston.